Scammers Demand $$ for GBP "Renewal", Business Marked Closed Days Later

[ABuck]

I have had a new one this week. Client had a call from someone claiming to be Google, telling her that GBPs have to be "renewed" every five years, and that they would need to charge her for this. She has been a client for a while and knew it was a scam so she told the person on the line that she knew it was a scam and hung up on them. Lo and behold, a few days later she noticed that her listing was marked as permanently closed. She called us immediately, and I went in and marked her as open, and she was restored within minutes. However, she was now questioning whether it really was a scam, which is, I am sure, their goal. I don't think this was a coincidence. What a clever little plan - tell the business owner to pay up or get closed, and then when they don't pay, just use Suggest an Edit to mark them closed. I wonder if they will call back.

Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[ElizabethRule]

Never had this happen before. Pretty devious.

 

[Marcin Karwowski]

Unfortunately, this is common practice in Poland. Many companies have specialized exclusively in such fraudulent activities. If you reject their offer, they will either immediately assume that your company is closed or report from many accounts that the company does not exist and very often they manage to suspend your profile.

Of course, it cannot be proven that it is this company's doing, so they act with impunity and make a good profit "for nothing".